The Oxford Academy Lady Patriots girls basketball team defeated St. Margaret’s 49- 21 and Brethren Christian 52-20 last week.With the victory, Oxford’s goes undefeated in league with a record of 12-0 and are crowned the Academy League champions, the first basketball title in the school’s history. The victories extended the Patriots overall win streak to 17 games and improved the teams record to 22-3 for the season. In league play, the Lady Patriots averaged scoring 49 points a game, while holding opponents to under 30. In fact there were only three games where the margin of victory was less than 10 points, two versus Sage Hill and once against Whitney, while Sage Hill was the only team to score more than 37 points in a game. One of the reasons for success during league was strong team play and consistent performance from the starting five and timely contributions when needed from the reserve squad. The starting five consists of three freshmen; center Austyn Masuno and guards Mylee Madrazo and Angie Gagnon. Rounding out the starting five are sophomore guard and co-captain Sophia Chan and junior forward Jocelyn Lopez. In the front court, Masuno averaged 19 points 14 rebounds a game and scored a double-double in every game this year, while Lopez averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds a game. The guards were led by Chan’s consistent stat line of 7 points, 2 assists, and 4 steals per game. Madrazo was the primary ball handler and averaged 7 points and 2 assists a game, while Gagnon averaged 7 points a game and made a three-point basket in 23 of the 25 games. “The Second Wave” plays an important role for Oxford led by senior guard and co-captain Stephanie Cha who provides leadership to the young team. Junior guard Celine Tran always provides a defensive spark and hits key shots during her opportunities. Freshman guard Jessica Pham was called up from the junior varsity team mid-year and has filled in nicely when needed. In the front court, junior forward Ashleigh Perez has made many key plays throughout the season and earned player of the game honors versus Sage Hill while junior forwardDebra Graver can always be counted on to keep opponents off the boards. The next step for the Lady Patriots is to prepare to make an impact in the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA playoffs, where the team is currently ranked No. 2. Although this is the Lady Patriots first appearance in the CIF playoffs in six years, the team is going in with high expectations. Head coach David Clifton expects the Lady Patriots to be ready. “The team worked hard all year and achieved our original goal of becoming league champs, but CIF is the second season and we need to be ready to play,” Clifton said. For Division 5AACIF Playoffs, the Lady Patriots received a bye in the first round and will host the winner of Connelly of Anaheim vs. Academy of Academic Excellence. The second round game will be held on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at Oxford Academy.
